23/7/10 – 40% of the Aerospace and Defense's Young Workforce Search for Work.

An Aviation Week workforce study has indicated that 40% of young professionals in the industry are in search for a job either inside or outside of their current employers. The results were established from the preliminary results of Aviation Week’s 2010 Workforce and Young Professional/Student Survey. The results were announced at the Farnborough Airshow’s ‘Futures Day’, an event created to motivate young people to pursue a career in the aerospace and defense industry.

Aviation Weekly is the largest media and service provider to the aviation industry. Their Workforce Study was first produced in 1997. Information has been gathered directly from young professionals and engineering students in order to create the report. The plan is to use the report to inform aerospace and defense companies on how to improve critical workforce issues such as recruiting much needed industry talent and supporting core education in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. It is expected that companies that engage with young professionals and attract and develop graduates via industry schemes are the most likely to retain the next generation’s workforce.

"We asked students and young pros about what drives their career choices, what they think of aerospace and defense as a career, and what the industry needs to do to attract and retain them," said Special projects editor at Aviation Week, Carole Rickard Hedden. She added, "Smart companies will ‘sell’ themselves to their current employees, not just spend on recruiting outside." A thorough overview of Aviation Week’s 2010 Workforce and Young Professional/Student Survey results will be published in the August 16 issue of Aviation Week & Space Technology.